In the name of Allah, the Merciful, the Compassionate,
His Highness Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah,
Emir of the State of Kuwait,
Your Majesties and Highnesses,
Secretary-General of the United Nations,
Excellencies,
Ladies and gentlemen,
I am pleased at the outset to thank the sisterly State of Kuwait, the Emir and the government, and the governments of the friendly countries of the United Kingdom, the Federal Republic of Germany, and the Kingdom of Norway for their initiative in convening this important meeting.
I would also like to express my deep appreciation to the United Kingdom for the good preparation, organization, and hosting of this Conference.
I cannot fail to commend the efforts of His Excellency the Secretary-General of the United Nations and his staff for the good preparation to ensure the success of this conference.
Your Highnesses and Excellencies,
There have been many meetings and initiatives on the crisis that has existed for five years in Syria but the plight of the Syrian people is still there, and has even intensified despite the beautiful promises we hear here and there, as if the Syrians have not had enough with the tons of bombs and explosive barrels and rockets falling on their heads around the clock to move the tragedy to what is worse: death by starvation or depriving them of medicine and other essentials of life.
What is worse is what we see and hear, on the sidelines of the Geneva talks, political statements and disregard for the fate of the citizens of the besieged villages and towns, such as Al-Zabadani, Al-Fu'ah, and Kafriya, who are starving while those responsible for their tragedy continue to bargain for humanitarian gains in return for political gains, challenging all the calls by the active parties in the international community which stresses the need to stay away from the barter crisis of the people trapped in any political negotiation process.
It was hoped that the date of Geneva would be a real start to the beginning of a comprehensive political solution to the Syrian crisis that would be committed by all the parties involved in the conflict, but what we notice unfortunately is the insistence of some to prolong the life of the crisis and push the situation to more severe levels of rot. And the result is more harm to Syrian civilians who are now in a situation similar to the victims of the genocidal wars of the last century.
Dear guests,
The good people in the international community continue to exert their utmost efforts and money to put an end to the disasters that the Syrian people are going through. Our conference today is proof that good initiatives are continuing, and that the State of Qatar is ready to contribute through its official and charitable institutions in order to comfort the children, women, and elders of Syria, who have nowhere to go, and the world around them is watching and is reluctant to impose a radical solution to this crisis.
A few days ago, His Highness Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani reiterated to His Excellency the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Mr. Ban Ki-moon, the keenness of the State of Qatar to contribute to all efforts to help the Syrian refugees and to alleviate their suffering.
In line with this promise, Qatar pledged $100 million to the Syrian people. $20 million will be allocated to the Qatar Education and Professional Development Initiative launched by the State of Qatar during its third donor conference last year.
But, we would like to ask a question that may be on the tongues of hundreds of thousands of Syrians: What is the usefulness of this aid and grants if they do not reach the people in time and do not alleviate their plight in anyway?
The State of Qatar, like all other donors, is ready to fulfill its commitments, but what matters most to it is that these allocations must reach its beneficiaries, and fulfill the humanitarian purpose behind it and see its impact on the lives of the Syrians.
Here, we may say that the outcome of this conference will not achieve its full purpose if we do not succeed in ridding the humanitarian side of the Syrian crisis from the claws of political officials. This is a responsibility of the international community and its institutions, which must put an end to the separation between human suffering and political endeavors to resolve this crisis and force the negligent parties to accept and abide by all agreed steps on the political transition in Syria, to reach a result that satisfies the Syrians first, and end a humanitarian crisis that remains a black spot in the modern history of mankind, so that the Syrian people would rise to build a modern democratic state based on justice, dignity, and freedom.
Thank you.